Raising Don: The true story of a spunky baby tapir by Georgeanne Irvine; Sloth's Treehouse Inn by Carrie Hasler, illustrated by Christina Wald

Most large zoos have some kind of publication, even if only postcards or magazines, but the San Diego Zoo's widespread reputation interested me enough in these books to break my usual rule about not reviewing titles that aren't available through my primary vendor, Baker and Taylor. I received two picture books, one a fictional story and one a more straight-forward baby animal photographic narrative from a publicist. Both titles were published this fall.

Sloth's Treehouse Inn tells the story of a sloth in the jungle who runs a small inn in his tree. When humans start cutting down the forest, his inn becomes overcrowded and "Santiago, who was almost always very happy, couldn't help but be very sad." When a blue morpho butterfly hatches from its cocoon, it heralds the arrivals of new hope, with people coming to plant trees and the rainforest slowly returning and once again supplying homes. Facts about animals decorate the end pages and the back matter consists of information on how people can help the rainforest and talking about the involvement of the San Diego Zoo organizations.

This title is something I could see a big sloth fan picking up as a souvenir at the zoo, but I wouldn't advise a library to go to the trouble of purchasing a copy on their own. The text is lengthy and bland, in a font that screams "self-published," the illustrations poorly done digital mashups, and, my own personal bugbear, it's heavy on the "you can stop climate change by drawing on both sides of the paper" type advice.

Setting aside that title, let's turn to the one I absolutely loved, Raising Don. First of all, the subject is excellent - there are few things cuter than a stripy baby tapir and there's a very limited number of books featuring these unique animals. The book tells the story of a real baby tapir, illustrated with photographs. Don, born to tapir Luna, was cared for by zoo staff since his mother didn't seem to know what to do with her first baby. Readers will see the details of the care, how the keepers milked Luna, weaned Don onto solid food, introduced him to water, and eventually found the perfect companion - Bristle, a small capybara who was being picked on by his herd. He was also eventually introduced to other animals including an elderly tapir. When Don was a year old, he was a handsome and friendly tapir and received a special birthday party before setting off on his next adventure, moving to the Nashville Zoo. Readers will get to follow the story and see Don in his new habitat, find out about his mother Luna's success raising her next calf on her own, and the book finishes up with lots of photos and facts about tapirs. There is a page of suggestions on "how you can help" but they are not an integral part of the story, especially since they're printed in white on yellow paper.

This has a much smoother narrative and, though the text is still too lengthy for the average read-aloud it's a great fit for a nonfiction book to share with older kids. The photographs are excellent, especially since they picture lots of adorable baby tapirs - someone once called them "chocolate bumble bees" and they really are cute! This title is definitely worth digging a little to find - it's available on Amazon - and is sure to be popular with animal-loving young readers.

Verdict: I would skip Sloth's Treehouse Inn, as it is poorly written and illustrated and heavily didactic, but Raising Don is a kid-friendly introduction to these unique animals and a worthy addition to most library collections.

Sloth's treehouse inn: ISBN: 9781943198139

Raising Don: ISBN: 9781943198146